Aug 12, 2017

The Claddagh ring (Irish: fáinne Chladaigh) is a traditional
Irish ring given which represents love, loyalty, and friendship.
The hands represent friendship, the heart represents love, and
the crown represents loyalty.

The design and customs
associated with it originated in the Irish fishing village of
Claddagh, located just outside the old city walls of Galway, now
part of Galway City. The ring, as currently known, was first
produced in the 17th century, but the name Claddagh ring was not
used before the 1830s. In recent years it has been embellished
with interlace designs and combined with other Celtic and Irish
symbols.

The ring belongs to a group of European finger rings called
"fede rings". The name "fede" derives from the Italian phrase
mani in fede ("hands [joined] in faith" or "hands [joined] in
loyalty"). These rings date from Roman times, when the gesture
of clasped hands was a symbol of pledging vows, and they were
used as engagement/wedding rings in medieval and Renaissance
Europe.

Incidentally, "Top
of the morning to you." "And the rest of the day to yourself."
Both are Hollywood inventions and never
used in Ireland.